


Steve's Last Date

by orphan_account



Series: New Avengers [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/M, First Dance, Steve Feels
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-06
Updated: 2015-06-06
Packaged: 2018-04-03 02:18:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,331
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4082911
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After Peggy Carter passes away, Wanda tries to make Steve feel better by trying to create the dance he never had. Inspired by a post I made on Tumblr.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Bad News

Every so often, Thor would visit the Avengers mansion. Whenever he did, two things were guaranteed to happen. Thor would always order pizza, and Sam, Rhodes, and Pietro would desperately try and move his hammer. You’d think after 4 tries, they would have given up. But they kept on trying, much to Thor’s amusement. Even Wanda had to admit it was fun to watch Pietro have to use something other than speed to solve a problem. This time, Rhodes had borrowed Tony’s hulkbuster (which could barely fit into the room) and was hoping it was strong enough to lift Mjolnir. It was at this moment that Natasha, just returned from another mission, walked into the room, and it was fair to say she was a little bit shocked.  
“Afternoon, gentlemen.” she said. “What’s that doing here?”  
“These mortals are trying to lift Mjolnir using shear force. It won’t work.” Thor answered, his arrogance so strong you could feel it.  
“And what makes you say that, Barbie?” Rhodes asked. Everyone had their own nickname for each other. But no one called Thor barbie unless they wanted to piss him off. It didn’t work that often as Thor was used to the nickname by now.  
“Because the Hulk himself, whose strength surpasses my own, cannot move Mjolnir an inch.”  
Rhodes didn’t listen, he merely stood patiently (well, as patiently as he could be) while Pietro desperately ran away from the hammer while holding onto it. After that didn’t work, he did something rather unexpected. Instead of picking up Mjolnir, he picked up the table it was on. This would have been clever it it hadn’t been the fifth attempt Pietro made to lift Mjolnir.  
“Behold” he exclaimed doing a fairly accurate impression of Thor “I am worthy of the mighty Mjolnir. Kneel before me, mortals”  
His arrogance was short lived.  
“Doesn’t count” Wanda said, who until this point was trying to figure out how the Hulkbuster managed to fit through the front door. “You lifted the table, not the hammer. The table is doing all the work.”  
“How come the table is worthy, but not me?” Pietro replied, still radiating pride.  
“Because the table isn’t an arrogant ass.” replied Wanda. He walked right into that one.  
“So is Thor, but he’s still worthy.” Pietro angrily retorted.  
“I agree with the sorceress, that does not count.” said Thor.  
At this point, Pietro gave up. He put the table down and ran out of the room as a blur. He returned with a packet of cookies, half of them already eaten.  
“Watch and learn.” said Rhodes, who was extremely eager to see if the Hulkbuster would work. Everyone, including Thor, stepped back. They all knew what the Hulkbuster could do, and Rhodes had a reputation for being a bit careless. No way near as careless as Tony, but still, better safe than sorry. The Hulkbusters hands were as large as the handle. Rhodes grabbed the hammer and pulled with all his strength. Nothing. He tried again. Still nothing. Then, he tried to fly away, pulling with all the might the Hulkbuster could handle. This went on for about two minutes, while everyone eagerly waited to see how this would end. Then, the Hulkbuster lost power. When Rhodes climbed out of the suit, everyone in the room laughed, Thor more than most.  
“I’ve told you already. It isn’t about strength of body, it’s strength of character. Which is why none of you can lift it.” he said, more cocky than he had ever been.  
“Can we all just agree that my solution was the closest to lifting it?” Pietro asked, clearly trying to win some of his pride back.  
Before anyone in the room could answer, they heard footsteps. Everyone in the room knew who was coming. Steve didn’t seem to wear anything outside of those shoes.  
“Captain, why don’t you show these people how it’s done?” Thor asked. He knew that Steve could lift the hammer. But Steve didn’t. He didn’t even enter the room. He walked by looking straight ahead. No one in the room thought much of it. They all went to sit down on the sofas and started arguing about what would be ordered for take out. Wanda was the only one who noticed something was wrong. She left the living room to look for Steve. First she looked in his room, then the gym, and then the training hall. She eventually found him standing outside, leaning on a balcony. He was watching the soldiers go about their jobs. Wanda had no idea how to start the conversation. She knew that Steve was not in the mood for talking, but she also knew talking was the only thing that would help him. She stood by the door for an entire minute, until she finally caved in and just said:  
“Why are you upset?” Not the most original of questions, but it got to the point.  
“Have you been reading my mind again?” Steve asked. He was always on guard ever since Wanda used her powers to hook Steve up with a bartender. In her defense, Natasha put her up to it.  
“I don’t need to. You’re not exactly the best liar in the world.” Wanda replied.  
Steve responded with a small laugh. It wasn’t much, but it was a sign he was comfortable with talking. Wanda walked closer and joined him by the balcony.  
“That is true. Though believe it or not, I’m better now than I was before I was frozen.” Steve replied. Then he paused. “A friend of mine has passed away. She died of Alzheimer's two days ago.” He finally said.  
“Who was she?” Wanda asked.  
“Can’t you just read my mind?” Steve asked back. Wanda hated it when people answered her question with another question, mostly because her brother loved doing it.  
“I could” Wanda said, and she was tempted to. “But it’s better if you tell me.”  
Steve took a deep breath, almost as if talking about it was physically straining for him.  
“Her name was Peggy Carter.” Steve started. “I met her just after I was recruited for the super soldier training. During the war she was a close friend, before and after I got like this. During my last mission, I had to crash a Hydra plane into the ice. That’s how I ended up here. While I was diving, Peggy and I agreed to go on a dance if they found me alive. When I woke up, I was in the 21st Century.”  
When he finished, it didn’t look like talking had helped all that much. He walked back to the door, most likely to find a punching bag. Just as he opened the door, Wanda spoke.  
“If you- if you had the opportunity to go back and have that dance” she said “would you?”  
Steve didn’t say anything at first. He looked at Wanda for several seconds, until he answered.  
“Yes.” he said. Then he went back inside, leaving Wanda with just her thoughts. Wanda had a small idea in her head. But she didn’t know if it would be a good one without an outside opinion. Wanda went back inside and after walking past Steve angrily assaulting a punching bag, she entered the living room to find Pietro, Natasha and Thor eating by the table, while Sam and Rhodes were drinking and playing darts. But Wanda didn’t care. All she needed was Natasha.  
“Hey Nat” she said. Natasha looked up. “Could I talk with you alone for a second?”  
Natasha was about to answer, but she was interrupted by Pietro wolf whistling so loudly, it ruined Sams throw. Ever since Wanda and Natasha had started hanging out, Pietro had become convinced that they were a couple. This didn’t bother Natasha, but it drove Wanda mad. She got her own back by making Pietro slap himself in the face.  
“Sure” Natasha said. She took one of Pietro's slices and walked out of the living room with Wanda, who took Natasha to the training grounds, the best place to have a private conversation.  
“So what’s up?” Natasha asked, thinking it would probably be something about one of the interns flirting with her. Wanda started by telling her everything Steve said. If Natasha was surprised, she was doing a good job of hiding it.  
“That would explain why he’s been so quiet lately.” she said.  
“That’s not all I wanted to tell you about” Wanda said, trying to keep them on topic “You know that thing I can do where I show you all hallucinations”  
“Yes?” Natasha asked. Now she really was confused.  
“Well, I was thinking, maybe I could create the final dance Steve never had. You know, like a set up date. Do you think that’s a good idea?”  
Natasha didn’t even respond. She looked at Wanda with a look so void of expression that Wanda was worried her brain had turned off. Then Natasha said something even Wanda didn’t expect.  
“OH MY GOD!! That is so romantic. So why don’t you just do it?” Natasha said. She usually got a bit too excited when it came to Steve’s romantic life.  
“I know nothing about Peggy Carter. What if I set this up and she starts speaking with an American accent but turns out to be English?” Wanda replied.  
“Can’t you just read Steve’s mind?” Natasha asked.  
“That wouldn’t be enough. I need something objective. Like documents or something along those lines.” Wanda said.  
Natasha went silent for a second, obviously trying to figure out the best solution. Then, she grabbed Wanda’s arm.  
“Come with me, we’re going to a museum.” was all Natasha had to say.


	2. The Captain America Museum

After a rather dangerous car journey (Natasha was never a safe driver), they arrived at the New York History Museum. This was Wanda’s first ever visit to a museum. She never had time for them in her childhood. Stepping through the front doors, she looked all around, trying to soak in everything in sight. Natasha took care of the receptionist.  
“Hi. One adult, one child ticket please” she said. She put on her ‘innocent girl’ voice she always used when talking to civilians. The receptionist didn’t even speak as he handed them their tickets. Maybe he was sick of work. Wanda could hardly blame him. This wasn’t exactly the most exciting job in the world. But she had more important things on her mind.  
“Why the hell did you ask for a child ticket? I’m 19.” she said as quietly as she could while still shouting.  
“Because it’s cheaper, and I’m saving my money for something special.” Natasha said. She was probably saving up for a new bike. She crashed them on an almost regular basis.   
“Anyway, how much do you know about Captain America?” she asked, quickly changing the subject.  
“Um, only what I saw on the news when they found him in the ice.” said Wanda. “He was a young man with incredible health problems who kept trying to join the army, but got rejected several times. He then signed up for the super solider program, where he was turned into a beefcake-” Natasha suppressed a giggle. “-he fought in World War 2 until he disappeared. Then a couple years ago, they found him in the ice.”  
“Very good” Natasha said. “Let’s see if there’s anything you’ve missed”  
After spending longer than Natasha intended staring at dinosaurs (Wanda always had a thing for them) they found what Natasha was looking for. An entire section of the museum dedicated to Captain America. It was by far the most popular part of the museum, especially for kids. Wanda saw his WWII era costume, and some footage of him in action. Seeing Steve kill Nazi’s was extremly satisfying for her (she was Jewish after all) but one exhibit caught her eye. A small exhibit dedicated to Bucky Barnes. Wanda recognised him instantly.  
“Wanda? Are you OK?” Natasha asked.  
“That’s the Winter Soldier.” Wanda said. “I’d recognize those eyes anywhere.”  
“You know the Winter Soldier?” Natasha asked.  
“Yeah, he once visited the place where they did experiments on us.” Wanda replied, her eyes fixed on a video of Bucky’s life. “I looked into his mind for a few moments. And, all I saw was- pain. Some slight bits of memory, but mostly pain. I can’t believe they are the same man.”  
“Hydra brainwashed him. Turned him into a weapon.” Natasha said, rather coldly.  
“You know him?” Wanda asked.  
Natasha responded by lifting her shirt, showing a rather large scar on her stomach.  
“Oh.” Wanda said.  
She had completely forgotten why she was here. Looking more closely at Bucky, he and the Winter Soldier couldn’t be more different. The Winter Soldier's eyes were filled with death. They were cold and emotionless. But Bucky’s had so much more warmth. They weren’t the eyes of a killer. They looked more like the eye’s you’d see on a hero. A saviour. Maybe he was a saviour before Hydra got in his head.  
“C’mon, let’s find this Peggy.” Natasha said. She didn’t like looking at someone who tried to kill her on more than one occasion.  
Wanda followed closely. She didn’t want to get lost. They didn’t have to look far. They found another exhibit similar to Bucky’s, showing Peggy’s war uniform, a machine gun she once used, and there was a short video showing her entire known life. Wanda watched carefully, trying to pick up on every little detail she could find. She noticed Peggy always kept her back straight. She was obviously a soldier, not some assistant. She saw footage of her shooting Steve’s shield before it was painted. And even some surprisingly decent footage of her in action. So definitely a strong women. Wanda watched the video at least 5 times until she knew everything she needed to know.  
“Let’s go. I think I’ve got a good idea of who Peggy is.” Wanda said.  
With one look back at the Bucky exhibit, Wanda and Natasha left the museum. Natasha drove as carelessly as she ever did, while Wanda focused on trying to create the perfect date set in the 1940’s. That is until Natasha got pulled over for speeding.  
“Wanda?” asked Natasha.  
Wanda sighed. She was so sick of this. But then again, Natasha had helped her out a lot. With a wave of her fingers, the police officer got back in his car and drove off. 

By the time they had arrived at the mansion, it was night. Most of the soldiers had gone to their rooms to sleep, with only the bare minimum on shift to guard the place while everyone else got to sleep. Wanda and Natasha went to find Steve. Their first visit was to the living room. Sam and Rhodes had left to go on a mission somewhere in Bolivia, while Thor and Pietro were still eating what was left of the pizza. Pietro was the first to notice the girls walking in.  
“Evening. How was your date?” He asked with a cocky smirk.  
Before Wanda could do anything, Thor gave Pietro a slap round the back of the head.  
“You should know better than to mock a fellow Avenger, let alone your sister” he said.  
Wanda was nearly impressed. Thor didn’t seem like the kind of person who would back her up, but maybe he was more mature than Wanda gave him credit for.  
“Fine. I’m going for a jog. Goodnight, Wanda.” said Pietro.  
“Goodnight, Pietro.” replied Wanda.  
With that, Pietro ran off as a blur.   
“Have you seen Steve anywhere?” asked Natasha.  
“Last I saw, he was in the gymnasium using a striking sandbag to practice his boxing.” replied Thor.  
“Thanks” said Wanda. “And they’re called punching bags”  
Wanda and Natasha headed for the gym. A few turns away, however, Wanda stopped.   
“What is it now?” Natasha asked.  
“I don’t know what this will do to Steve. It could help him recover, or it could make him worse.”  
“It is highly unlikely that it will make Steve worse” said Vision.  
Wanda jumped, while Natasha barely flinched. Ever since Vision had discovered how to control his density, he was making a habit of inadvertently scaring people, Wanda most of all.  
“Could you stop doing that?” she asked, trying to catch her breath.  
“Apologies.” he said. “But back to the subject of Steve Rogers. This ‘dance’ should give Steve a sense of closure, which will help him move on. Even if it doesn’t work, it will not make his mental state any worse than it already is.”  
Since Vision was an A.I., he was always the best member of the Avengers to turn to for advice about this sort of thing. This was all Wanda needed. Vision phased through the floor, while Natasha and Wanda went to find Steve. They saw him using a new punching bag made by Tony that wouldn’t break no matter how hard anyone punched it (including Thor). They watched him for a while, until he struck the bag one final time and stopped to catch his breath. This was when Wanda waved her hand.


	3. Time to Dance

All of a sudden, Steve was standing outside what appeared to be a hotel, wearing his best suit. Steve straightened his tie and walked in. It was the largest party Steve had ever been to. There must have been millions of people celebrating tonight. And they had good reason to. The war was over. Thousands of soldiers returned home to the arms of relieved family and friends. People no longer had to worry about Nazi’s invading and slaughtering them. And Steve had been found in the ice. He returned to America a hero. But tonight he had something far more important on his mind. Peggy was going to teach him how to dance. He looked around the room trying to find her. Hardly anyone recognizes him, which Steve liked. Dancing would be difficult enough without anyone worshiping him. He eventually gave up and went to the bar to order a drink. Before he could, a familiar voice stopped him in his tracks.  
“Captain, you’re late.” said the voice.  
“Apologies, I had a bad flight.” Steve said.  
He turned around to see Peggy Carter in her best dress. She had obviously dressed for the occasion.  
“Good to see you Steve.” she said. “So, I guess you want to know what’s happened while you were sleeping.”  
“Wouldn’t hurt” said Steve  
“Well, all of Hydra’s agents have either been killed or arrested, our economy seems to be booming. You’re men have all settled down. They have their own homes, their own wives. One of them recently had his first child. Called him Steve” Steve smiled to himself. “Howard’s settled down with a wife.”  
“Seriously?” asked Steve. Howard was not the person Steve associated with marriage.  
“That was my reaction. Her name’s Maria. Anyway, enough chatting. It’s time I showed you how to dance.” Peggy said. She put down her drink, grabbed Steve’s hand and led him to the dance floor.  
Even after fighting Red Skull, Steve still felt nervous about dancing for the first time in his life. Peggy took the lead. Steve watched the other dancers carefully. He watched their hip movements and feet placement, trying to pick up on how this was done. There were a couple of missteps at first. He tripped over his own foot once, and then he had to grab Peggy to make sure she didn’t fall on her back. But Steve soon got the hang of it. He was soon dancing like a natural. It was at this point when Peggy’s silence was broken.  
“What was it like, being trapped in the ice?” she asked.  
“It was like- sleeping.” Steve said. “Like dreaming. The dream I had was very weird.”  
“Do tell” said Peggy.  
“Well” Steve started, barely understanding the words that were going through his head. “I dreamed I woke up in the 21st Century. And I met some very strange people.”  
“Like who?” asked Peggy. She must be doing this on purpose.  
“Like, Howard’s son. He was called Tony. He was definitely his father’s son. He had a suit of armour that could fly and shoot lasers. I met a couple of Norse gods. Both of which tried to kill me. Then an alien race invaded New York.”  
“Sounds- eventful” said Peggy.  
“I guess being frozen does things to your head.” said Steve.  
A few minutes later, the music stopped. The guests, including Steve and Peggy, stopped dancing to give the band a round of applause before they left the stage. Steve and Peggy went into the dining room to find a table. After ordering the best wine the hotel offered, Peggy struck another conversation.  
“So what do you want to do? Now that the war is over.” she asked.  
Steve paused. All that time sleeping in the ice, he never thought about what he would do if he woke up.  
“I’m not sure.” He said. “Maybe I’ll do what every other soldier does. Settle down, find a house. Somewhere in the countryside. Where the kids could run around and watch the sun rise and fall.”  
“I’d like that.” Peggy said.  
“Would you?” Steve asked.  
“I’ve seen enough excitement for one lifetime. It would be nice to find somewhere a little bit more peaceful than a warzone or a war room.” Peggy replied.  
Steve smiled. He picked up his glass and raised it into the air.  
“To the quiet life” he said.  
Peggy picked up her glass as well.  
“To the quiet life” she repeated.  
Their glass met with a satisfying clang, and with that clang, Steve woke up. He was still in the gym. He must have fallen asleep. But Steve knew this wasn’t like any other dream. There was something more at work here. And he knew exactly who would know.


	4. Wanda vs. Steve

Wanda was in the living room with Natasha and Thor. While Natasha drunk what was left of the alcohol, and Thor ate the leftover pizza, Wanda simply levitated some coins in the air, doing all sorts of tricks with them. After the stress had been relieved when she no longer had to worry about Steve’s date, she was bored. Natasha took notice.  
“How about a drinking game?” she asked, a little tipsy. Which was impressive given the amount of booze she had consumed.  
“No thanks” Wanda said. “I don’t drink. It does weird things to my powers.”  
“Wanda.” said a voice from the door.  
It was Steve, and he was looking as serious as ever.  
“Could I talk to you alone for a second?” he asked.  
Natasha and Thor said nothing. They simply got up and left. Natasha gave Wanda a worried smile of support (maybe that was the drink) and Thor picked up the pizza box. He offered Steve a slice, who looked at him coldly. Thor said nothing and left the room. Now it was just Steve and Wanda, alone. Even though she was far more powerful than him, Wanda had to admit, Steve was extremely intimidating. It wasn’t just the height, something in his eyes looked unsettling. Like he was ready to break something. Preferably not something connected to Wanda. He walked forward slowly but surely, found the seat opposite Wanda and sat down. He never took his eyes off her. Wanda sat there, trying not to look to scared. The silence was broken by Steve.  
“Wanda, did you do anything to my mind today?” he said, with a coldness to match his expression.  
Wanda didn’t even attempt to lie. She knew it was no use. Steve was many things, but no matter what Tony said, he was not an idiot.  
“Yes, I did” she said. Steve didn’t say anything. “I- after you told me about what happened, I thought I could help out. So I went to the museum-”  
“All by yourself?” Steve interrupted.  
‘Amazing. I’ve just sent him on an acid trip involving his long lost girlfriend and he’s still concerned about me going out late at night’ Wanda thought to herself.  
“Natasha drove me.” she said. “I learned everything I could about Peggy, and I- set you up for a date. Sort of.”  
Steve didn’t say anything for a moment. He simply sighed. Then, he spoke again.  
“Why did you do it?” he asked.  
“Because, when me and my brother were saved from the wreckage, he wasn’t in good shape. So I gave him my ‘treatment’ and it worked.” Wanda said.  
She hadn’t told anyone that until now. Not even Pietro. Steve sighed again.   
“Whatever reason you had, it’s wrong to invade a person's minds like that. You know that don’t you?” he said, as cold as ever.  
Wanda knew what he was doing. He was guilt tripping her. And it was working.  
“Yes. I’m sorry.” she said.  
“Good.” Steve said. Then he smiled. “Because if you had asked permission, I would have let you use your ‘treatment’ on me”  
Wanda couldn’t believe what had just popped out of Steve’s mouth.  
“Seriously?” she asked.  
“Well, I have thought for a long time what that dance would be like. And, between you and me.” Steve paused. Wanda eagerly awaited what he was about to say. “I do like it here. The technology is a little ahead of my speed, but I’ve met some nice people. I feel like I’ve done more good than bad. But- to be honest. There’s nothing I wouldn’t give to go back home. To see my old friends again. To see Brooklyn the way it used to be. To see Peggy again” he said. Then Wanda saw a small tear fall from his right eye. She knew more of them would follow. So she got up, with the intention of leaving Steve with his thoughts. Before she left the room, Steve stopped her.  
“And Wanda-” he said. Wanda stopped in her tracks and turned to look at Steve. He was smiling. Still crying, but smiling. “Thank you.”


End file.
